Confidence Will Return For Owen Hargreaves - Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes Owen Hargreaves could be close to the final stages of his comeback from a very long stint on the sidelines as he attempts to rebuild his confidence.

The former Bayern Munich star has suffered setbacks in recovering from major surgery on both knees to cure a tendinitis problem.

But while Ferguson was hoping to bring the English international back into the fray with the Red Devils earlier this month, the Scot has had to concede the recovery is not yet complete – with self-belief being the next stage to tackle.

“Owen is training very well. It is more a confidence thing for the lad to come back into full training with us," Ferguson told the Manchester Evening News.

“He is doing quite good work with the physios and football-related training but he is not at a competitive level at the moment.”

Ferguson added that due to the already long wait to see Hargreaves recover, there would be no need to hurry him onto the field until he was fully fit.

He added: “He has been out for a year and two months, so we are of the opinion that he should take his time and not rush it. In that respect, he needs to get his confidence back.”

Omar Dabbagh, Goal.com UK